Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Research article2017Peer reviewed

Replanting conifer seedlings after pine weevil emigration in spring decreases feeding damage and seedling mortality

Nordlander, Göran; Hellqvist, Claes; Hjelm, Karin

Abstract

Replanting at appropriate times after harvesting a coniferous forest stand can help efforts to suppress seedling mortality caused by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, but optimal times are uncertain. We hypothesized that planting in June rather than May in the third season after harvest would reduce feeding damage by the pine weevil and increase seedling survival rates in central Sweden, where new-generation weevils mainly fly away from their development sites in May/early June. An experimental test of the hypothesis in eight clear-cuts confirmed that planting in June instead of May reduced proportions of seedlings attacked by pine weevil, bark removal from seedlings' stems, and proportions of seedlings killed by feeding damage. These differences between seedlings planted in May and June declined to some extent with time but still remained significant after two growing seasons. The total seedling mortality after two seasons did, however, not differ significantly between seedlings planted in May and June. Overall, 29% of all seedlings were killed by pine weevil, 4.0% by Hylastes bark beetles, and 2.3% by drought. The results indicate that replanting in spring during the third season after harvest can advantageously continue until mid-June with respect to damage and mortality.

Keywords

Fallow period; forest plantation; Hylastes cunicularius; Hylobius abietis; pest management; planting time; reforestation

Published in

Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
2017, Volume: 32, number: 1, pages: 60-67
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS

      SLU Authors

        Associated SLU-program

        SLU Plant Protection Network

        Sustainable Development Goals

        Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

        UKÄ Subject classification

        Forest Science
        Ecology

        Publication identifier

        DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2016.1186220

        Permanent link to this page (URI)

        https://res.slu.se/id/publ/78419